Memories and Regrets
by novocaine-x
Summary: Finally discovering the truth behind the famed Uchiha massacre, Sasuke goes on a new journey for revenge. He realises that the very people he had so often vowed to protect, would be the very ones he now swore to kill. AU from chapter 404.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **Okay, so I'm re-writing this story since I thought that the first version was awful. Hopefully, you guys will like the edited version better. I'm really trying to make the chapters longers and more interesting. Review and let me know what you think. PM me if you have a suggestion for a title name for the current chapter.

**Disclaimer: **This will be the only time I'll say this for all my stories: I do not, and will not (_ever_) own Naruto.

**

* * *

****.: Memories and Regrets :.**

**:. Chapter 1 .:**

The moonlight washed over the silhouette of a young man leaning against a tree. The woods were quiet with the exception of the dull chirping of crickets and rustling of leaves. Dark clouds rolled into the night sky, showing the first signs of the oncoming rain. The moon shone down eerily; its white light illuminated the small clearing and reflected off the nearby lake. A twig snapped, which ruined the peaceful illusion of the place as Uchiha Sasuke stepped back.

He turned towards a group of ninjas, who were standing behind him, a small distance away. One of them had a large silver halberd strapped to his back and light-blue hair that messily fell into his eyes, which became apparent in the soft moonlight as Sasuke beckoned him over.

"Suigetsu."

"Yes, oh great Sasuke-_sama_?" questioned the said man; his tone held a tinge of mockery. He grinned, showing off his sharp, shark-like teeth.

Onyx eyes narrowed as Sasuke glared at him.

"Hn. I want you to scout around for a lake or river nearby so we'll have a place to wash up in the morning," ordered Sasuke, turning his back on them once again. "And when you're done with that, bring back a few pieces of wood to light a fire." He turned to the rest of his team and ordered, "Set up camp. We're staying here tonight."

Suigetsu walked off into the forest, grumbling in annoyance and shifting his heavy sword slightly. The others prepared to spend the night in the little clearing; they set down their bags and bustled about, putting up the tents.

Sasuke watched them impassively, his face stoic. His ears perked up as he heard someone walk up behind him; he stiffened.

"Sasuke, are you sure about this?" A man who wore an orange mask over his face crossed his arms over his chest; his only visible eye swirled with the Sharingan, the bloodline trait of the Uchiha clan.

"Madara, we've been through this already. You're going with the rest of the Akatsuki to capture the two remaining Jinchuuriki, while I'm going to go to Konohagakure with Taka, to avenge my clan…and Itachi."

The man being addressed to sighed and came to the conclusion that nothing would change the stubborn Uchiha's mind.

"Very well, Sasuke. I just hope you know what you're doing," said Madara, shaking his head slightly. "So, when are you leaving?"

"We leave at dawn. That way we'll have a better chance of reach-"

"JUUGO!!!!! _Now look at what you've done, you moron!!!_" screeched Karin. She was the only female member of Taka; she tried to put out the fire she had managed to make with a few broken twigs lying on the ground.

"I'm sorry…" Juugo mumbled, ashamed, as he pulled out the remnants of a tent which he had accidentally managed to destroy.

"Ugh. _Really_, Juugo! You're so clumsy and stupid! I still don't see why Sasuke would want _you_ as a member of Taka. You're completely useless! And now you've burnt Sasuke's tent." Karin scolded him as she adjusted her glasses.

Sighing, Sasuke walked towards the two members of his team and glared at them in annoyance.

"_Now_ what happened?" asked Sasuke dryly; he sighed heavily in irritation.

"Oh, _Sasuke_…Juugo burnt your tent," whined Karin. She tried to make what she thought was a cute face, and failed _miserably_.

"Oy! What's all the commotion? I could hear Karin's bitchy voice all the way in there," called out Suigetsu. He stumbled into the clearing, and gestured towards the thicket behind him while he tried to balance a bundle of logs in his arms.

"_Why you little_-" started Karin, before she was cut off by Sasuke.

"Karin, that's _enough_. Suigetsu, keep the logs over there and help Juugo set up the other two tents," ordered Sasuke, massaging his temple in irritation.

"But where will _you_ sleep, Sasuke? You know…_you could always share a tent with me_…" said Karin, her voice suggestive. She moved closer to him and sat down, winking in a way that made him mentally cringe, as he forced down the bile that came up his throat.

His dark eyes locked on her fiery red ones and he scowled at her. He shot her an icy stare which made her think twice about her words.

"Suigetsu and Juugo can share a tent with Madara or something…_so_, what do you say, Sasuke-_kun_?" asked Karin as she batted her eyes and moved closer, trying to lean on Sasuke's arm. She ignored the look of disgust etched on his flawless features and latched herself onto his arm.

"Suigetsu, you're sharing a tent with Karin. Juugo, you're with Madara. I'll keep watch out here and then I'll switch shifts with Juugo." Sasuke stood up suddenly which caused Karin to fall flat down on her face.

"Oh no! No way in _hell_ am I sharing a tent with little miss I-have-so-many-issues-and-problems-'cause-I'm-an-ugly-bitch-who-needs-a-serious-attitude-adjustment-so-_there_!" yelled Suigetsu. He glared at Karin as she scrambled back to her feet, dusting herself off.

"_What did you call me?!"_ screeched Karin. She pulled at her reddish hair in frustration and anger. She looked quite comical with her glasses askew and her bright red hair even messier than usual.

"What? Is your crappiness affecting your hearing, too? I said, I am _not_ sharing a tent with you, you little miss-"

"Ugh! I know what you said, you jackass!" yelled Karin as she aimed a punch at his face.

"Oh yeah? _Then why'd you ask_?" mocked Suigetsu as he dodged the hit.

"I swear, I'm going to-"

"Enough."

The two stopped bickering and turned to look at Sasuke who glared at them. His Sharingan swirled dangerously as his eyes narrowed in anger.

"You're both sharing a tent whether you want to or not. Unless one of you prefers to sleep outside in the cold, you'll both do as I say," commanded Sasuke coldly as he deactivated his Sharingan.

The two of them exchanged glances; their eyes reflected the flame of the flickering fire which Juugo had lit.

"…_Fine_. But you're sleeping in the corner. I wouldn't want any of your weird, mental _diseases _passing onto me…" grumbled Suigetsu, as he finished setting up his tent, earning a snarl from Karin. She glared at him as she went inside and flashed him an obscene hand sign.

"Asshole," she muttered. Suigetsu closed the tent flap with a little more force than necessary, which made it rip down the front.

"What the- great. _Just great_. First, I end up sharing a tent with you. _You_; of all people. And then you rip the bloody _door_ in _half_!!!" yelled Karin, as she glared at him. Her face coloured in anger.

"Oh yeah? Well let me tell you something,_ princess_. It's not a 'door'. It's called a tent 'flap', so shut the hell up. And I guess it ripped in half because it was too difficult for the tent to keep in all of your damn bitchiness," snapped Suigetsu, glaring back at her with equal venom held in his stare.

"You are _such_ a bastard! Apologize _now_!"

"No."

"Apologize, you little piece of shit!"

"Okay, fine. _Geez_, Karin, I'm _so_ sorry you're such a bitch. _Really_, it's heart-wrenching… I cry just thinking about it…" said Suigetsu, earning a punch from Karin which he dodged expertly.

"God! _Whatever_. I'm going to sleep. If you come even an inch near me, I swear, Suigetsu…you're a dead man," growled Karin.

"You don't have to tell me twice…I'd rather be castrated than be near _you,_" remarked Suigetsu, smirking; this earned another glare from the redhead.

* * *

Sasuke shook his head as he sat watch, and sighed, frowning at his teammates' bickering.

The Uchiha sighed and leaned back against a log. His gaze swept around the vicinity before it stopped its perusal on the night sky. Stars were scattered across the dark abyss, their delicate pattern shaped out a constellation or two. The small fire crackled as the flames hissed; the blaze illuminated their little settlement. His eyes flickered shut, before he opened them again. Dark eyes reflected the smouldering flames; small specks of gold danced on a background of eternal black.

'_Konoha… Is this really the right decision?'_

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he shook away thoughts about a certain blue-eyed teen, who was almost like a brother to him and a young girl, who's sparkling green eyes gazed at him lovingly. He directed his thoughts in another direction as he pondered on ways Taka could quietly enter Konoha without alerting any of the ANBU. They were sure to be on patrol that night. He sighed heavily and leaned his head back as his eyes slid shut.

**-:.:x:.:x:.:x:.:-**

"Wake up, Suigetsu!" yelled Karin, as she threw a bucketful of water on him. The young male jolted up from his heavy sleep in alarm.

"Huh? Who? What? Where? I SWEAR I DIDN'T KNOW!!!!" He yelled as he shook his head frantically; his eyes were still clouded with sleep.

"_Get a grip, man_!" screamed Karin, slapping him. "Sasuke says we have to leave._ Now_."

Karin hurried about, bundling up her sleeping bag and other supplies into her small messenger bag. She stepped out of the tent into the crisp, cool morning air. Suigetsu glared at her as he rubbed his cheek; he now sported a bright red mark where she had slapped him.

"Ugh! Will you _get up_?" She screamed from outside.

Grumbling, he got up and started to pack.

About ten minutes later, they resumed their journey to Konohagakure. They jumped from tree to tree with inhuman speed, Sasuke leading them. Taka, which had separated from Madara's company. As daylight set in, they sped up as they neared Konoha, wanting to arrive when the least people would be around and security would weakest.

"I can see the village gates up ahead. Karin, check the vicinity for any signs of ninjas," ordered Sasuke.

The redhead performed the required hand seals and focused her attention on the surrounding area, scanning the place for any indication of shinobi presence.

"No one's here. We're clear to go," stated Karin, as she hurried along with the rest of them.

* * *

"_SAKURA_-_CHAAAAAAAAN_!!!"

The said kunoichi whirled around quickly, kunai in hand as her green eyes glimmered in annoyance. She scowled as she saw a blonde ninja running towards her, closing the distance between them, yelling his head off.

"Naruto, you _baka_, shut the hell up! What are trying to do? Alert every ninja in the place of our whereabouts? What if there are some enemy shinobi out here, huh?" She whispered fiercely, as she bonked him on the head.

"Ow…Sakura-chan, that really _huuuurt_…" whined Naruto as he massaged his scalp, pouting.

"Whatever," mumbled Sakura, crossing her arms. She seemed to be in quite a foul mood. "What are you doing here, anyway? I thought you said you were going to beg Tsunade-shishou for a mission or something." She tucked a strand of pink hair behind her ear.

"That's what I came to talk to you about. Grandma Tsunade told me to come and get you. She's offered us an A-ranked mission! Isn't that awesome?" said Naruto, bubbling with excitement at the prospect of finally getting a new mission after such a long period of time.

"Well, why didn't you say so before? Let's go," said Sakura, as she started to run back to the village, crossing the forest quickly. She giggled lightly as she yelled out to him. "Race you back!"

"Huh? Wait! Hey, that's not fair! You started before me!" yelled Naruto as he started to run after her, a large grin present on his face.

"Come on, slow-poke! You can do better than that!" yelled Sakura, laughing. She picked up her pace as she turned a corner and was startled as she felt herself bump into something firm. She fell back on the ground with a soft '_thud_'.

"Oh, I-I'm so s-sorry. I-I didn't see you, there," stammered Sakura, as she scrambled back to her feet hastily, dusting off her clothes. She cursed herself mentally for sounding like a babbling idiot before she tilted her head up to glance at her victim apologetically. Viridian eyes widened as they landed on the youth in front of her; her breath caught in her throat.

"Sakura-chan, wait up!" yelled Naruto, from behind her as he sped up. He came to a halt beside her, panting lightly as he gripped his sides. Cerulean eyes travelled upwards to meet those of the newcomer's before they too, widened in shock. Naruto clenched his fists as he let out a low growl, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Teme," he muttered, his voice low and menacing, as he glared at his former teammate.

"Naruto," replied Sasuke, his expression was cool and impassive. His eyes stared back at the two, their onyx depths void of any kind of emotion whatsoever. Other than the slight narrowing of his eyes, as he regarded him with the same indifference he often showed to everyone else.

"Sasuke-kun…"

His attention was brought back to Sakura, and he turned his head towards her slightly. He glanced at her uninterestedly before he turned back to his team; he motioned them to keep going. Taka started to move away, leaving Naruto and Sakura to stare at their retreating backs in shock.

Naruto stepped forward and let out another menacing growl. His blue eyes began to take on a reddish tinge as his quivering form was engulfed in a cloud of red chakra.

"SASUKE!!! Don't you dare walk away and turn your back on us again!" yelled Naruto, as Taka continued moving forward.

"Sasuke!"

His attempts were futile though, as they kept on walking without a backward glance. Red eyes narrowed dangerously as Naruto pumped chakra into his legs and broke into a run. He ran ahead of them before he whirled around to face them challengingly. He whipped out his kunai from its holster, and held it out in front of him.

"I swore I'd bring you back no matter what_. Even if I have to fight you for it_!"

* * *

"Where is he? The damn kid was supposed to be here ages ago. All he had to do was bring Sakura…" muttered a blonde woman, tapping her fingers on her desk, as she reached out for a bottle of sake.

"I'm sure Naruto's on his way, Lady Tsunade. Meanwhile, why don't you finish the rest of that paperwork? You've been putting it off for quite a while now," suggested Shizune, Tsunade's assistant, as she pushed a stack of papers towards her. The Hokage groaned in frustration.

"Ugh…stupid, bloody paperwork…stupid duties…stupid, stupid, _stupid_…" muttered Tsunade as she dragged the papers towards her. She flipped through the pages, and giving one last sigh, she started to work on them. As soon as she began reading the tedious documents, the door to her office swiftly burst open and an ANBU officer rushed in, panting slightly.

"Lady Hokage, there seems to be a problem outside the village. My men heard an explosion and they went to look for the source. When they came back, they informed me that they had seen Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura fighting an S-ranked criminal, and missing-nin," stated the officer, as he struggled to catch his breath.

"Whom did they report seeing?" inquired Tsunade, as she looked up urgently, her brown eyes narrowing.

"…_Uchiha Sasuke_."

**::.::X::.::**

_Thanks for reading. Thanks go to: Naruto-fan-Okami-chan and StarsInTheRain for their amazing beta-ing!  
Please visit my poll (man, I love that word...it's so funny... -pollpollpollpollpollpollpollpollpoll- okay I'm done.) and vote for which story you'd like me to write next._

_Review and let me know what you think of the revised version. _

_Reviews make me write!! (Seriously, they do...so, if you want me to update...you know what to do! XD)_


	2. Chapter 2

**author's note:** Okay, so I know I took really long, and I'm really sorry. I was...busy? Okay, no. Let's face it. I was too lazy. Always have been and always will be. Sad fact of life...but I promise the next chapter will be out sooner as long as I get some feedback letting me know where you want me to go with this story.

k. thx.

* * *

**.: Memories and Regrets :. **

**:. Chapter 2 .:**

"_SASUKEEEE!!!!"_

Naruto narrowed his eyes dangerously as he charged towards the raven haired teen; his palm held the Rasengan.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as well as his Sharingan activated. His arm was surrounded with familiar bursts of electricity as he initiated the Chidori and prepared to attack. His hand pulsed with currents and the crackling light of the powerful jutsu. He let out a low growl and broke into a run, extending his arm forwards.

"_Naruto_."

They both ran at the other, each pulling their arm back to hit their opponent with full force. Both shut their eyes instinctively as they hit their intended targets.

"Sasuke!" Karin supported Suigetsu, who was unconscious due to fighting with Sakura, as the Uchiha's name ripped out of her throat in panic and fear.

"_Naruto_!"

Sakura's eyes shut and she raised an arm to shield herself as the two collided with each other. The force of the two jutsus combining caused a tremendous explosion to take place, engulfing them all in blinding white light; the air filled with static.

Soon after, Sakura felt the place spinning as her world slowly dimmed to a dull black.

* * *

'_Beep'… 'Beep'… 'Beep'… 'Beep'…_

Sasuke woke up to the sound of a heart monitor beeping steadily beside him, and he blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to the bright sunlight which poured into the little room, illuminating it. He squinted as he peered through the gauzy curtain which separated his bed from the other half of the room. The hospital sheets felt uncomfortably itchy against his clammy skin and he shifted slightly, grimacing. The room held the familiar, yet unpleasant smell of chloroform and medicines, as well as that odd stench of blood and other fluids often found in hospitals.

"So you're awake, huh, Teme?" a voice questioned bitterly.

Sasuke turned his head slowly towards the voice and narrowed his eyes when he saw Naruto lying down on another small bed a few feet away from him. The blond was covered in bandages, not unlike him, and glaring at him fiercely.

Sasuke's eyes darted around the room as he tried to figure out his surroundings.

"We're at the Konoha Hospital," stated Naruto, as though he had read his mind, earning another sharp glare from the stoic Uchiha.

Sasuke pushed himself up on his elbows, grunting as he tried to get up, and winced when he felt a jolt of sharp, piercing pain shoot down his side. The boy gasped and clutched his chest area suddenly in an involuntary attempt to ease the pain. His eyes clenched shut as he started coughing painfully, making him feel as though his insides were being crushed. One hand moved down to grip the sheets around him tightly as he coughed up mouthful after mouthful of blood; the heart monitor beside him beeped almost frantically.

His body shook with each hacking cough, and he doubled over in agony. The starched, white sheets were slowly getting drenched with the bright vermilion blood, as drops of the dark liquid continued to trickle down onto the linoleum floor, staining it. The door to the room burst open as a nurse scurried in, barking questions to Naruto, asking him what had happened. Placing a hand on Sasuke's back, she channeled chakra into his body. She directed it into his chest cavity to ease up the coughing as she also repaired any ruptured tissues in his lungs.

She continued to pass chakra into him, all the while running her hand up and down his back soothingly, stopping only when his coughs had completely come to a halt. He continued panting slightly before he wheezed painfully and looked up. His forehead was covered with beads of sweat, and droplets of blood ran down his chin; his face was extremely pale.

"…Sasuke-kun?"

He turned his head slightly to see Sakura gazing at him carefully, concern etched into every line of her face. Dark eyes travelled around the room, as they came to a rest on Naruto, only to see a similar expression adorning his features. He then turned back to her, bloodshot eyes narrowing dangerously before he looked around again, wearily. Shrugging her hand off, which was still on his back, he tried to get off the bed, wincing slightly as he did so. He limped stiffly towards the door, frowning heavily as Naruto and Sakura stared after him, eyes wide.

Sasuke was startled when he felt someone grip his upper arm tightly, and he paused momentarily. Shaking the hand away, he continued to walk ahead without sparing a glance behind him to see who it was that stopped him. Suddenly, he felt his arm being held again in a vice-like grip, which tightened even more as he stubbornly retaliated. He wrenched his arm out of the hold and whirled around to lash out at whoever was preventing him from leaving this god-forsaken place. He looked down, frowning, and his eyes widened ever-so-slightly, as they came to rest on Sakura.

He found it hard to believe that Sakura, weak, naïve little _Sakura, _was the one trying to stop him from leaving; he had been so very sure that it had been Naruto.

"Get lost," he snapped, his eyes narrowing in irritation.

"Sasuke, I'm sorry…but I cannot let you leave this room," stated Sakura, staring at him in determination, her mouth set in a grim line. She crossed her arms across her chest and frowned as his glare intensified.

**-:.:x:.:x:.:x:.:-**

Rain fell steadily as the air fogged up and cooled. The cave served as a shelter for the three Shinobi inside; their breaths came out in foggy wisps as they let out an occasional shudder and rolled over on their places on the rocky ground. The sun had just risen and the vicinity was lighted by a dull pinkish light as the sun's rays reached the dark recesses of the cavern.

Karin sighed woefully as she looked around the cavern, running her hands up and down her arms as she tried to warm herself. Her bright red eyes came to rest on her other two teammates and she stared at them momentarily, before frowning impatiently.

'_When the hell are these guys going to wake up? I'm freezing my ass off over here…'_

She glanced outside and saw that it was still raining heavily. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, resting it against the rough wall of the cavern. Her brows furrowed down in thought as she recalled all the events which had taken place that day; she gradually fell asleep, the patter of the rain lulling her to sleep as her breathing leveled out into a steady, deep rhythm.

_**-Flashback:-**_

"_SASUKEEEE!!!!" yelled Naruto, as he charged towards him, his palm holding the Rasengan._

_Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he activated the Chidori, and prepared to attack, his hand pulsing with electricity. _

"_Naruto."_

_They both ran at the other, each pulling back their arm to hit their opponent with full force. _

"_Sasuke!" yelled Karin. She struggled to hold on to Suigetsu who was unconscious after his fight with Sakura._

"_Naruto!" she heard the annoying pinkette yell from somewhere else._

_The two of them collided with each other, the force of the two jutsus causing a tremendous explosion to take place, engulfing them all in blinding white light as the air filled with static._

_She clenched her eyes shut as the trees around her shook slightly and the air rippled with all the energy that was expelled from their chakras._ _She felt someone move beside her and opened her eyes hastily to see Juugo standing in front of her, shielding Suigetsu and her from the direct impact of the explosion. _

_Her eyes widened slightly at his actions, before she crouched down, putting her hands over her head as she shielded herself and her comrade._

_-x-_

_The mist curled and moved almost ominously as the sky darkened. Dark clouds rolled in the sky showing the first signs of the oncoming rain. Dusk set in as the sky turned a dull purplish black and slowly shifted to grey. Heavily lidded eyes fluttered open and Karin let out a groan as she moved a hand over her eyes and sat up slowly. She gasped softly at the sight which met her eyes. Crimson eyes swept over the unconscious bodies of her teammates, to that of the blonde haired Kyuubi vessel. Her eyes narrowed in irritation as they passed over the pink haired kunoichi who was sprawled on her back, blood running down her chin, until they stopped their perusal, landing on Sasuke. _

_He was walking towards them slowly, his eyes narrowed towards the ground. His right hand was cradling his left arm as he winced in pain._ _Karin got up hurriedly and ran towards him, only to be pushed away by him in irritation. She stood in front of him, and placed a hand on his arm._

"_Sasuke…?" she called, hesitating a bit before she raised her hand up to his face, muttering, "You must be exhausted...and completely out of chakra…"_

_He raised his eyes up to her face, nodding slightly, knowing what she meant, before he moved his mouth over her arm and, closing his eyes, bit down on it, earning a soft cry from her. His eyes slid open as he_ _dragged his lips over and off her arm. Bringing a hand up to his face, he swiped his wrist over his mouth, wiping off some of the blood that trickled down his chin._

"…_Thank you, Karin…"_

_She lifted her head up, grinning at him, as she pulled her sleeve down._

"_No problem, Sasuke…" she said, biting her lower lip, before she sighed and asked, "Well, what do you want us to do now?" _

_..._

"…_Take Suigetsu and Juugo…go back to Otogakure. I'm done with Taka," he muttered, as he started walking away towards Konoha's gates._

_Her eyes widened before they narrowed in anger once again. "So what? ARE YOU GOING TO ABANDON US AS WELL?!?! Huh? ARE YOU JUST GOING TO LEAVE US, LIKE YOU LEFT EVERYONE ELSE?! What are you going to do, Sasuke?!"_

_She sighed in frustration as he continued walking on without sparing her a single glance._

"_Damn it, answer me, Sasuke! What the fuck are you going to do now?!"_

…

"…_I'm going to avenge Itachi."_

_Her mouth dropped open in surprise as she came to a sudden realization. _

'He's going to kill the village elders…'

"_Sasuke," she whispered. Her gaze fell to the ground, lips trembling as she saw him leave Taka, forever. She ignored the tears that rolled down her sun kissed face and swallowed, hands shaking. She looked up again, only to notice that he was long gone. _

_She frowned, and whirled around angrily, before stomping off towards Suigetsu and Juugo. She stubbornly wiped off the tears and cleared her throat._

"_I'm gonna have to move you guys somewhere else…" she muttered sighing; her voice cracked as she stared down at them almost helplessly. _

_Kneeling down, she placed her hands over Juugo's chest, and directed some of her own chakra into his body. After a few minutes, his eyes flickered open, and he looked around dazedly. _

"_Karin…what happened?" he asked, sitting up; he towered over her small frame as she avoided his curious gaze. "Where's Sasuke-sama?"_

"…_The bastard left us," she muttered, looking away._

_His eyes widened and he looked down in disappointment. He didn't feel too much remorse, though. It was as if he knew this would happen; that this would have eventually been Taka's fate. He paused for a moment, before he spoke up again._

"_Come…we must go somewhere covered. It's starting to rain," he said softly, sighing as he felt small droplets of water fall down on his head._

"…_There's nowhere to go," she said dejectedly, raising her eyes to meet the dull sky. Dark grey clouds were slowly gathering, as drops of rain drizzled down lightly. Thunder rolled in the distance as the rain picked up._

"_I think I saw a cave nearby. When we were coming, I'm sure I saw something…maybe we can go there, and rest up a bit. You'll also have a chance of healing Suigetsu once we get there," he said, his eyes softening._

"_I guess you're right," she said, sighing, "Let's go. Which way did you say the cave was again?"_

_He smiled at her kindly before he lifted up Suigetsu and hauled him onto his broad shoulder. He glanced at Karin in concern before he started leading the way._

_  
__**-End Flashback.-**_

"Karin? Karin, wake up."

A light moan escaped soft lips as the said girl opened her eyes slowly. She felt someone shaking her, and saw Suigetsu looking down at her. He stared down at her, eyes wide, and blinked. She almost yelled out at the close proximity- his nose was practically touching hers as his purple eyes stared down at her inquisitively.

"_What?"_ she snapped at him irritably and frowned up at him, which caused him to flinch back slightly.

"…Nothing." He sighed, narrowing his eyes to the ground. He looked away, feeling rejected, as his fingers played with the hem of his shirt.

Her eyes softened slightly and she sighed. "What?" she asked, calmly this time.

....

"I'm hungry."

Twitch.

_Twitch._

Throwing a punch at him, which sent him skidding a few feet back, she growled.

"Baka, you woke me up for _that_?"

* * *

_Millions and millions of thanks to my beta, Naruto-fan-Okami-chan, or taking the time to look over this crap. xD _

_I'd like to thank all those who have reviewed so far and have stuck with my story for so long- not to mention all the Favourites and Subscriptions. You have no idea how much that elates me. Thank you!_

_Well, anyway...please review. _

_They make me write. They really do. Seriously._


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